Canada arrests Huawei CFO

Canadian coppers have arrested the chief financial officer of Chinese telecom company Huawei Technologies over allegations she violated US trade sanctions against Iran.

Wanzhou Meng, who is the daughter of company founder Ren Zhengfei and the deputy chair of Huawei’s board, was arrested in Vancouver at the request of US authorities and is facing extradition.

“WenzhouMeng was arrested in Vancouver on December 1. She is sought for extradition by the United States, and a bail hearing has been set for Friday”, Justice Department spokesperson Ian McLeod said in a statement to The Globe and Mail.

“As there is a publication ban in effect, we cannot provide any further detail at this time.”

According to Bloomberg, the Chinese embassy in Canada demanded that Meng be freed for the US and Canada to “rectify wrongdoings”.

The US government has been leaning on its allies to avoid using the company’s telecommunications equipment over cybersecurity fears.

Since at least 2016, US authorities have been investigating whether Huawei violated US sanctions against Iran. This proved a rather good method of shutting down Chinese companies like ZTE.